Return to Alfheim (updated)
by Yui-kitten
Summary: Yui was born with strange powers, which no one else she had ever met before has. Curious as to why her mother wants her to keep them hidden she embarks on an adventure to find out more about herself. As she discovers more she grows more curious about her absentee father. Eventually she uncovers a fascinating world, which she thought only existed in her mothers stories. AU (UPDATE)
1. Yui's curiousity

**AN: This the re-edited version of my story. I hope you like it!**

 **This story is an AU fic. As such the games never existed and Yui is a real person, NOT AI. She will be their actual biological daughter. Alfheim will be a real place. Asuna is human in this fic and Yui is half-fairy.**

 **I hope you enjoy it!**

Updated Return to Alfheim

Yui's Curiosity

Yui looked outside, as the rain fell, from her bedroom window. The drops made streaks across the glass, and the fence that bordered the backyard of her house was blurred by the heavy downpour. The sky had took on a foreboding gray color, making the time appear much later than it was, and the large clouds looked as if they were giving a warning, hanging ominously above her house. Still, it was her favorite type of weather, as long as there was no thunder to be heard. The thunder was what scared her, and made her unable to sleep.

The rain, falling heavily, made a comforting thunk as it hit her window. It reminded her of when she was younger, and how she used to be scared of it. Her mom would always cuddle and comfort her through the loud thunderstorms, trying to get her to understand that the rain was harmless. Eventually, she had grown out of her fear of the rain when she finally realized that it couldn't hurt her or her mother, but still kept her fear of the thunder. Now, as it thudded on her window, it reminded her of her mom's comforting scent and soft voice as she told her stories.

Yui thought back to an earlier time, when she was about six, and the story her mother had told her. The rain had been hammering outside, and the sound of thunder could be heard in the distance, threatening to strike closer to where they were. The sky had been a midnight black, the stars being practically invisible, only a few prickles of light scattered here and there in the dark canvas. The power in the house had gone out hours earlier, and the room had been lit by the few candles her mother had laid out. Yui hadn't cared about being in the dark, as she was quite skilled at seeing in it, but the thunder had bothered her ever since she heard a story on the news about a tree crashing down into a house and killing someone it had hit. Her mother had warned her to stay away from windows if the weather was dangerous, which Yui had listened to eagerly, not wanting to get struck by lightning or crushed by a tree. Plus, the noise just scared her - it was so loud, making her heartbeat go up every time it startled her. Every single time she had started to doze off, it would hit again, sounding like a sledgehammer striking something angrily. She couldn't relax enough to fall asleep.

Since unconsciousness seemed to be evading her trembling daughter, her mother had decided to make Yui her special hot chocolate, hoping it would calm her down enough to make her conk out. She began stroking her hair, while telling her a pleasant story about a place she had stumbled across called Alfheim.

Yui listened intently as her mother spoke about the pixies, the World Tree, and all the different kinds of creatures that lived there.

"The World Tree was right in the center of Alfheim and was absolutely gigantic - you could be a thousand miles away and still see the branches of it," her mama had told her, voice quietly wistful, her mind appearing to be in a different place. "You don't know the true beauty of nature until you sit under the World Tree's large canopy of leaves, with the harsh sunlight filtering through them. It was positively breathtaking, and remains one of my favorite sights to this day."

Then her mom showed her an extremely old-looking book, which felt like it was made with materials Yui had never touched before. She was sure none of her other books were made like this; it looked like it might have come from a different place, or another world entirely.

Flicking carefully through the odd and ancient pages, her mother paused on one and turned the book to her. It had a very beautiful illustration of the World Tree in it, the pages lightly yellowed from age. "This is almost exactly what it looked like, though it doesn't do real justice to the enchanting feel of it and how the sunlight flickered through the leaves. It felt like a place that just proved magic really existed; it could have gotten the greatest skeptic to become bewitched by it. That's what finally made me believe in every strange thing I saw there."

Yui had listened, awestruck by the thought of a world like that. She wished it really existed, instead of being a story her mother had made up. She wanted to go there and sunbathe under the tree so badly! It would be a wonderful place to daydream, if only it existed, she thought wistfully. Blinking her suddenly heavy eyes, she struggled to stay awake. She asked her mom where she got the odd-looking book with the beautiful illustration.

"It was in your father's stuff..." Her mom's voice trailed off, getting that same sorrowful look in her eyes that Yui must have seen a thousand times. Her mama always seemed distant whenever Yui's papa was brought up, as if her mind traveled to a different place entirely. Her mom blinked twice, reappearing from whatever world her thoughts had gone to. Wherever it was, it seemed to age her, her mother's ordinarily lovely face looking defeated and worn. "Anyway, you should be getting to bed - the rain sounds like it's slowing down. I'll stay with you all night, and I'll never let you be alone, so you have nothing to worry about, okay sweetie?"

Her mother lay down on the couch with her, covering them both with the thick wool blanket that was always draped across it, and stroked her hair again. Yui couldn't help but be a bit disappointed - her mother never talked about her dad for longer than she had to, only bringing him up on a few rare occasions. She had hoped that maybe her mom would finally tell her more tonight. But the warmth of the blanket, and the feel of her mom's fingers through her hair, soon sent her to sleep before she could ask any questions.

It had been over two years since then, and another opportunity to ask about her father had seemed to avoid Yui. Her mother had still refused to speak anything more about him on her own volition, so she couldn't help but be a bit curious. Still, she had a great mom who always comforted and listened to her, and put her daughter before her own needs, sacrificing so much so her daughter could be happy. It didn't feel like she could possibly be missing out on much, even if one of her parents was absent from her life.

'Maybe he's dead and that's why mama doesn't like to talk about him,' Yui thought, her curiosity waning. It made her feel horribly guilty for being so curious. Of course it would be difficult for her mother to talk about her father, if that were the case. She couldn't bear for her mother to be upset, so Yui buried any lingering questions she might have about him - even if the curiosity was killing her - in case it made her mom cry.

Resurfacing from her memory, Yui sighed and got up from her place near the window. She debated on whether to read a book or not, as it was still quite early, the sky only looking dark from the heavy rain. She gave up on reading quickly though, her mind far too distracted to pick up any words, and decided to rest her mind a bit.

With the sound of the rain pitter-pattering outside, the warmth of the gray blanket, and the memory of her mom's scent, Yui's mind soon calmed down and she fell into an easy sleep.

~RTA-YC~

"Yui, sweetheart? You have to wake up!"

Yui groaned as her mom's voice prodded her from her sleep. She had been dreaming about flying around the moon, with the stars twinkling in the background. Though her mom's voice was very soft to the ears, it didn't make waking up in the morning any easier.

"Yui, I swear, If you're not up in five minutes, I'm tossing water on you!" her mother threatened, her words not matching her soft and kindhearted voice.

"I'm up! I'm up!" Yui exclaimed, rising in a hurry. She knew her mom would make good on her promise. Her mother, Asuna, was very excited, though also extremely sad about this day.

"Oh, so you actually managed to wake up this time? Color me surprised! I thought I'd have to get a bullhorn! Maybe we should get your hearing checked?" her mom teased her as she left the room, her long chestnut hair trailing behind her, leaving the smell of her pear-scented shampoo behind.

Yui grumbled as she got up to make her bed. Pulling the gray blanket down flat against the not-matching white comforter and sheet set, she sighed softly. Then she stretched out her limbs when she finished, exited the room, went down the hall to the bathroom, and took her shower.

As she finished up brushing her teeth, she heard her mom say, "I laid your clothes out on the bed, tell me if you need anything else! I hope it's okay for today." Her mother's footsteps slowly faded as she went downstairs.

Yui rolled her eyes at her mother's concern. She was pretty sure her mother double-checked that her head was still attached to her body before she was allowed to go anywhere. Her mom never let her leave the house without making sure she had everything she needed, checking and double-checking what was in her backpack. Yui's teachers always questioned how she carried her bag, remarking on how heavy it was. "What exactly's in it?" they had asked, a trace of concern in their voice, clearly wondering how she was able to carry something almost half her weight.

'Oh, just a first-aid kit, in case I start bleeding to death, also an umbrella, in case a hurricane starts outside - you never know, right? My lunch, cause mama doesn't trust the school lunch to be healthy enough for me, a second lunch in case I lose the first one, I mean what if I were to trip and smash my first one, or I met someone homeless and gave them my other lunch cause I'm such a nice person? A flashlight, because what if the power goes out, or I'm somewhere pitch-black, and I can't see and step in some glass, or trip and fall in a fusion reactor? What would my poor mother do then? A cellphone with my mother's number on it, in case the teacher is mean to me and I have to call her or the cops. And about twenty other things, all necessary of course!' Yui told herself, exasperated at her mother's worry.

Her mother always came up with strange items she would need, making up ridiculous reasons she might have to use them. She fretted constantly whenever her daughter left the house, and made sure she was prepared for any occasion beforehand - even if it was unlikely to ever happen.

Yui quickly got dressed in the black dress and jean pants her mother picked out and stepped out of her room, walking in front of the mirror in the hall. Scowling, she noticed her elfin ears were out. She closed her eyes and concentrated, trying to pull her magic back in. Eventually there was a flash of blue light, and a mysterious feeling washing through her body. She opened her eyes and saw she was her human self again.

Her fairy form, wings and all, had an annoying habit of coming out when she wasn't paying enough attention. If she was just staying home it would be okay to stay like that all day, as it felt more natural than her human form, anyway. But she was going to school, where the ears and the wings would definitely stand out, so blending in was required. Unfortunately, being in her human appearance for too long grew to be a bit uncomfortable after a while. Her wings started aching, and it seemed to become impossible to keep her other form in. She usually preferred to let her wings out at home, choosing to only be a human when she had to go in public.

Yui pondered her reflection for a second. She had long hair, the same shape and length as her mother's, only much darker in color. Her human self's had a paler black, but her fairy one had a beautiful, pitch-black color, which for some reason had a few chestnut streaks in it if you peered closely in the sunlight. Her eyes, which she always thought were too big for her head, also changed with her appearance. Her fairy version's were almost as dark as her hair, a deep obsidian shade, but her human self had a more dark blue color. They were paired with long eyelashes, the same length as her mother's. Her eyes were shaped like her mom's as well, though it complemented her mother's hazel pairs better, in Yui's opinion. She also had Asuna's lips, full and pouty, a beautiful pale red color. Other than that, they really didn't look too much alike, though her mom would protest at that and insist that she looked just like her daughter. They looked just enough like each other that they were obviously related if you look closely.

But her mother had beautiful chestnut hair that went down her back like a waterfall and framed her lovely face perfectly. And gorgeous cinnamon eyes that lit up when she was happy, or doing something she enjoyed. Her mother's heart-shaped face was delicate and lovely looking, the kind you would do a double take on and think, 'Wow, she's absolutely beautiful.' It made Yui feel jealous sometimes - she would never be anywhere close to as beautiful as her mom, no matter how much Asuna insisted that Yui looked even more gorgeous than her. They didn't even have the same skin tone, Yui's being a little darker that her mother's pale snowy white. Her mother looked like a fairytale princess, delicate and beautiful, and she could never hope to top that. She wondered who she looked like. Her mother had always told her she looked a lot like her father, but she had never shown a photo of him, not even once.

"You look a lot like your dad," Asuna had told her on one of the rare moments when she spoke of him, "except for the length of your hair, the longer eyelashes, and the pouty lips." Yui had pouted at being called pouty, which made her mother grin. She hated being called pouty.

Now, as she examined herself in the mirror, she thought about her mother's words. It made her wonder what her dad truly looked like, and if she really did look just like him. Was that why her mother sometimes winced when she smiled a certain way?

"Yui! Breakfast is ready!" her mom called up from the kitchen downstairs, making her jump.

"Coming!" she called, grabbing her backpack on the way down and trying not to trip in her haste. Not that she couldn't just catch herself, having wings and all. But it was best not to raise her mother's concern any more than it already was.

The kitchen had a very warm, welcoming feel, and it constantly smelled nice from all the great food her mother was always making. It was a place you could feel right at home in, though god bless you if you got in Asuna's way when she was cooking something. The cabinets were a warm brown, and held the different spices and ingredients she used when baking. There was a large closet near the refrigerator that held their dishes, and all the neat devices Asuna prepared food with, some of which Yui had no idea what they could possibly be used for. The stovetop was a pristine white, as her mother never let her kitchen look dirty for long. It was one of her favorite places to be, cooking being one of the hobbies her mother was fond of, and she never failed to impress anyone who tried her meals. Though a lot of the time she had to buy cheap, her mom could have made the best food critic be speechless.

Yui sat down at the slightly dinged-up wooden table and chairs, the same shade of light-brown as the cabinets, and put her backpack on the ground beside her. The tablecloth was a gentle pink color, which Yui's mom had dubbed "fairy" pink. It was one of her mother's favorite colors, the other being mint green.

Yui looked at the plate her mother set in front of her. "Hmm, eggs, bacon, and toast? Not very original for you, Mom," she teased. Even if it was basic, she knew it would be delicious before she even tried it. Asuna's cooking was never one to fall flat.

Her mother kissed her forehead softly. "Well, with it being your first day of second grade, I decided to play it safe. I just want you to be full until lunchtime." Tears began to fill her eyes at the reminder that her only daughter was already in the second grade.

Yui was quick to distract her - she could never stand to see her mom upset, as it made her start crying, too. "Well, whatever it is, it tastes great as always, Mom! I love it! You're the best mom ever." Asuna was always able to make an otherwise boring meal into something that tasted like it was made by a skilled five-star chef.

That seemed to cheer her up a bit. "Well, good! As long as you're okay until lunchtime!"

That made Yui roll her eyes. She swore her mother thought she was going to starve if she didn't have food shoved in her mouth constantly. It was a good thing that her mom's cooking was so tasty.

Asuna hummed as she fluttered around the kitchen, cleaning and putting away stuff as she went. Her voice never failed to put a smile on Yui's face.

"Mama, you should sing more often. Your voice is so beautiful, I bet you could be a singer if you wanted to." Yui was just joking, of course. Though she was really good, singing wasn't Asuna's passion.

She blushed a pretty pink, making her already beautiful appearance more lovely looking. She always got embarrassed when she was complimented, something that Yui took advantage of. It was cute to see her otherwise poised mother get flustered.

"Oh, I'm not the best. I'm sure there are a lot of great singers I would look terrible in comparison to. I'm not that good, really."

"Like Seira?" Yui joked. Seira was Yui's babysitter, and had been for most of her life. Karaoke was the babysitter's favorite pastime, despite the fact that her voice wasn't quite cut out for it. Yui was pretty sure the half-deaf cat from her old neighborhood, Kirby, would have a much better singing voice, even though it was old and hoarse.

Her mother laughed. Seira was notoriously awful at singing. Sipping from a mint green mug, Asuna looked for something in one of the drawers. Finally finding the notepad she wanted, she grabbed a pen and made a few memos to herself. She began humming again, just to humor Yui.

When Yui finished her food, she got up to wash her plate. She tried to make it as easy on her mom as possible. Her mother worked all day in order to keep a roof over their heads, then did most of the chores by herself, as there was no one else to help her but Yui, who tried to do her best on them. But Asuna always shadowed her and went back and cleaned the area Yui had just scrubbed, doing a much better job on it, effectively ruining the reason Yui did it in the first place. She wouldn't let Yui do anything too hard, keeping the more difficult chores to herself. She wished she knew the magic words to say to get her mother to accept her help more often. So she did small things to make it easier, telling herself every little bit helps.

"I've got it!" Her mom beamed at her, grabbing her plate. "I'll clean up today, as a present for your first day of second grade!" She acted like Yui had solved a medical mystery, rather than just survive to the age of eight years old.

Yui smiled at her. "It would only take a second, Mom." She knew it was futile, but she offered anyway.

Her mother waved her along, just as expected. "It's fine. Then let me check your backpack and make sure you have everything you need for today, okay?"

Yui groaned, sensing that another five pounds were going to be added to it. What would be shoved into it next, with an absurd reason from her mother? It was going to weigh more than her soon!

After Asuna was satisfied - and only two pounds were added - they headed outside to their silver car and went off to Yui's school. The roads were still damp from where it had rained last night, so they drove slower than usual. They pulled up to Yui's school, where a sign which had the school's mascot - a lion - painted on it welcomed everyone to the new year.

Yui was about to head in after hugging her mom, but Asuna paused her as she was going up the steps. Her hazel eyes looked stormy and conflicted.

"Yui, promise me you'll be safe? Never leave mommy, okay? I need you." Her mom's gentle voice was full of concern. Though this question was asked a lot, the worry in her voice never lessened.

The way her mom always asked her to be safe and the way she made her promise not to leave made Yui wonder if her dad really was dead. Her heart ached for her mother, unable to imagine her grief if so. She couldn't comprehend how it would be, losing the love of her life - for her father appeared to be it for her mother, as she still got a longing look in her eyes whenever she spoke of him - and everyday having to send away her only daughter, who apparently looked just like him, with the intense fear of losing her the same way. It must be terrible on her mother, the worry being in the back of her mind, having to focus on her work through her fear. It had to be maddening.

She remembered an incident when she had injured her wings the night before, and she had decided to force herself to attend school, even as the pain made her want to vomit. She had eventually given up and practically crawled to the nurse's office, begging to go home. Having to force her wings inside her body was doing nothing for her aching back. The nurse had called her mom's work number so Yui could talk to her, and put it on speakerphone. The amount of panic in her mother's voice when the school nurse had said, "Hi, I'm the school nurse and your daughter has gotten hurt" had made Yui wish she had put up with her injury.

Returning to the present, Yui hoped her smile was convincing.

"Of course I'll be safe, Mama, and of course I'll come home - you know I'd miss your cooking too much! I'll be fine!" Yui made her words teasing, hoping to make her mom feel more at ease. She hated having to leave her.

Asuna smiled. "Alright, Yui, as long as you come home, Mama will always have the best meals waiting for you!" Her mother sounded slightly happier, though still a bit worried. Yui wished she knew the right words to say to her mother, to get her not to panic.

"You know I'm just teasing, Mama. Of course I'd miss you, and not your meals! I love you, Mommy. Please don't worry about me." Though she would miss her mom's snacks as well. The "mommy" was to appeal to her mom's sweet side. She tried not to say it too much anymore, trying to appear older, but she knew her mom loved to hear it.

That seemed to cheer her mother up finally. "I love you too, Yui. So much. Alright, head in to school now! I don't want to make you late." Her mother still sounded like she'd rather Yui stay home, but she forced herself to send her in anyway. Yui hoped she'd be fine.

Taking one last good look at her mother's beautiful face, she went inside.

~RTA,YC~

Mrs. Rei, Yui's new teacher, closed the book she had been reading to them. "Now that we're done with the fifth chapter, why don't we save the rest for tomorrow? Let's talk about ourselves a little bit, okay? I'm excited to learn all about you!" She had them say their name and three things about themselves.

A boy with a shocking mess of red hair and freckles said, "I'm Kaito, my favorite color's blue, like the ocean, and I want to surf like my older brother someday." Kaito told them about all the trophies his sibling had won, clearly admiring his older brother greatly. He showed off a shark tooth necklace his brother had given him, claiming that he had wrestled it from an actual shark, something that Yui doubted very much.

One by one the class introduced themselves, and finally a girl to the right of Yui introduced herself.

"Um, my name's Yuki ... I like to draw, uh, I like to dance, I guess. Um, and also I live in an orphanage." Her words quieted down at that last part. Yuki was actually kind of pretty, with her hair a unique color Yui had never seen before. It was a weird shade of black that looked almost purple. Yui noticed she was wearing mostly purple as well. It must be the girl's favorite color.

"I'm sorry to hear that, dear. What is it that you like to draw?" Mrs. Rei asked, complimenting her on the pages she had colored.

Yui thought about what the girl had said, how she lived in an orphanage. That meant her parents were most likely dead, or at the very least unable to take care of her. It made Yui wonder about her own dad, and if he was alive or not. Her mom had never said he had died, but she never said he was alive, either.

'If he's alive, then where on earth is he?' she wondered. What could have possibly caused him to leave? Surely it had nothing to do with her loving and kindhearted mom, who was nice to everyone, even the people who didn't deserve it. She couldn't see anybody, ever, being angry with her; her mother was just too good of a person for that. Maybe it was because of Yui herself. Maybe he didn't want a daughter, and decided to leave her mom because of it. That made Yui feel incredibly guilty. Of course her mother would have her and take care of her, even at the cost of her own happiness. That's just the type of person she was. She loved her daughter immensely, proving it by giving up so much for her. She would never sacrifice Yui for anything, even the person she loved.

As Yui tried to ignore the direction her thoughts had taken her, she noticed the teacher had been calling her name for some time.

"Yui? You seem distracted. Do you mind telling us a little about yourself? What do you like?"

"Oh! Sorry, um, my name's Yui, I like reading stories, sleeping, and eating Mama's food!" Yui realized she had sounded lame, which caused her to cringe a little bit, but she didn't much care. She was never able to stay friends with anyone for too long anyway, much to her mother's concern.

Her teacher seemed amused by her words. "Well, that's nice, Yui. I'm sure your mom's food is delicious. Does anybody else have something to say?"

A couple of the other kids spoke up and told everyone about the cool things they had done that summer before the bell rang, signaling recess time.

Mrs. Rei led them all outside to the playground that was located next to the school. It had the traditional playground equipment: swings, with the usual slightly rusted metal chains and black seats; a slide, which was a faded yellow color; and the monkey bars, with chipped blue paint down the side. The rest wasn't out of the ordinary either, nothing too noteworthy or interesting. It was still a bit damp from where it had been raining last night.

Yui's favorite thing to play on was the swing, but it reminded her of a bad memory from before she was in school, when she had lived at her old house.

~RTA,YC~

Yui had been only four then, and she hadn't yet understood that most people didn't have elf ears, or wings. To her they were a normal part of life, maybe even more natural than her human form. She knew her mother had told her she had to keep them hidden, but she just didn't understand why that could be. Why should she need to keep part of herself hidden? Yui thought it was just a rare or unique gift, not strange or weird, or something that could put her into trouble.

Yui had gone to the swing set while her mom sat on a park bench a little ways away, looking up from her book occasionally to check on her daughter. She noticed a brown-haired boy on the swing beside her, dressed in a red and blue coat. It had gotten colder, as they were nearer to winter, and even she was decked out in all her winter gear. Her mother had bought her a fluffy pink coat but Yui wasn't too fond of it, preferring darker colors. Her favorite color was black, but her mother always seemed bothered if she showed preference to that color; it appeared to upset her for some reason.

Yui sat down on one of the seats and launched herself off the ground, the chains on her swing clattering a bit. As she got into the familiar motions of swinging, she was soon going higher than the boy next to her. You would be hard pressed to find someone who could go higher than Yui. Swinging and being in the air was like second nature to her, as she was not the kind of person to be scared of heights. Going up in the air felt lovely, and she imagined herself flying up amongst the clouds. That was a nice daydream to have, and she began humming to herself.

"Hey! How are you going so high? I'm never able to get that high up!" the brown-headed boy next to her asked, startling her out of her daydreaming.

"I don't know, just swing your legs like this!" Yui kicked her little feet and went slightly higher. It was incredibly easy to her; she didn't have to even think to do it.

"I can't!" the boy exclaimed, kicking his feet awkwardly, and looking frustrated. His kicks were uneven and made his swing change directions a little bit.

"Well, I don't know, it's easy for me!" Yui yelled down to him. And it was: she felt she could go even higher, if she really wanted to. She wished she could go up until she reached the stars. Her mother probably wouldn't like that, though.

The boy made a sound of annoyance as he kicked his legs out, one at a time, instead of both like Yui had shown him.

She decided he was hopeless, as he looked even older than her and didn't even know how to swing correctly! She continued swinging for a couple more minutes, then did her favorite "trick," one she knew her mother wouldn't approve of.

Looking back to make sure her mother wasn't paying attention to her, she jumped off the swing. But she didn't begin falling down immediately; instead she floated for a while, not quite flying, before gently landing on her feet much slower than she should have. She looked around and saw that nobody was looking, not even her mother, so she shouldn't get in any trouble for it. Only the boy next to her saw, and he seemed harmless enough.

"Hey, what was that!" he shouted. "You looked like you were flying for a second!"

Yui immediately looked behind her, to her mom. She didn't know why she had to keep her wings and fairy self hidden, only that her mother wanted her to. But technically she hadn't used them - she had instead used her "feelings" instead to float for a bit.

Yui sometimes got these feelings, like a warmth flowing through her, that made her able to do special things, things her mom wasn't able to do. Like when the cookie jar had been set up too high for her to reach and she hadn't been able to fly that high up, her wings out of practice, she had gotten frustrated and felt warmth flood through the palms of her hand. She had accidentally used the warmth, and the jar had gently floated down safely into her hands. Yui's mother hadn't understood how she got it down at first, until Yui had told her. Additionally, one time when she was three, she had fallen off her little training bike and had a big gash on her head. Her mother had been sobbing, apologizing for not catching her, and was one second away from rushing her to the hospital when, in Yui's upset over the pain, the "magic feeling" rushed to the cut on her head. Her mother had gasped, and Yui had felt the hurt slowly disappear until it was a gentle ache. Asuna had wetted a paper towel and blotted at her baby's forehead until the deep gash was revealed. But it wasn't a deep cut anymore; instead it looked like it was several hours old, and was nowhere near large or deep enough to cause the bleeding that had happened before. Yui had healed it accidentally with her magic. Asuna had been stunned, quiet for the rest of the day, looking as if her mind was in a different place entirely. She had eventually told her daughter she was only allowed to do that at home. But Yui just couldn't understand why.

Couldn't somebody else do this? There had to be other people, otherwise why on earth would Yui be that special? It didn't make sense for only her to be able have special powers. She wasn't anything unique, she wasn't super smart or strong, she couldn't even use her powers sometimes, so there was no way it was just her that could do stuff like this. She wasn't smart or brave enough for it; there was no way she deserved it more over someone else, someone like her mother. There were lots of people who would be great with them, and could use them better than she did, so why did she get them? Maybe it was a rare ability instead, and other people would get sad or jealous that they couldn't do it. Maybe that's why her mom said not to do it in public.

It was just like her mother to consider other people's feelings. Asuna was always kind to everybody, even if they were rude to her in return. She only ever got angry if someone hurt Yui. So maybe it would be okay if she told just one person other than her mom. Surely that would be okay. This boy next to her didn't seem mean, so it was probably safe, right? What could he possibly say or do that could make her mother's order to stay hidden make sense?

"If I am concentrating really hard, I can sort of float off the ground a little bit. Watch!" Yui pushed the warm feeling from earlier to her feet, and hovered above the ground by a few inches. It took less work to use her actual wings, though. The feeling that healed her head, among other things, left her a bit exhausted after use, for some reason. She probably just had to practice with it some more.

The boy's eyes widened, and he gawked up at Yui. "How are you doing that?! I want to, too! Teach me!" he demanded.

"I don't know, I've always been able to do this. Just try to search for this warm or tingly feeling, and push yourself up," she explained. She landed back on the ground smoothly, though she hadn't pushed herself that high up, only enough to demonstrate.

The boy slowed his momentum on the swing and stood up. He tried to follow Yui's directions, his face scrunched up in concentration. But no matter how hard he tried or how much Yui tried to help him, he couldn't do it. It was just like the swing before.

She tried to show him how to levitate a rock instead, thinking it would be easier than his whole body, but he couldn't do that either. He couldn't do any of it, and it made him progressively more angry.

"Well, whatever then, you must be a freak! Nobody else can do that - you're probably just a witch or something!" he yelled at her, clearly upset, then pushed her down and ran off to see his mom before she could retaliate.

Yui's eyes filled with tears, extremely hurt. He had seemed so nice at first, so what had happened to him? Why was he so mean? She hadn't meant to make him jealous; she just wanted to share something about herself with a friend, and it had all gone wrong. Why was she so stupid? Her mother had told her and she hadn't listened, so this was all her fault. Is this why her mom said to only do magic at home? Would everyone else act that way too if they found out? Was she really a freak?

"Yui!" her mom called frantically, having seen her daughter get shoved by the angry boy. "Did he hurt you!? I'm so sorry, Mommy should have been watching better! Are you hurt? Are you bleeding, do you need to go home?"

"It's okay, Mom, I tried to show him how to float in the air - you know, like I did for you earlier? - and he got angry that he couldn't do it too." Tears were falling down Yui's face, and her sentence was interrupted by hiccups. She wasn't in any physical pain, but her shock made her continue to sob.

Asuna's face went pale. "Yui! I told you not to show anybody! We have to leave right now! Please tell me nobody else saw?!"

She grabbed Yui's arm and hurriedly rushed them towards the parking lot. As they were getting in the car, Yui heard the boy who had pushed her yelling to his mom.

"She was lifting a rock up with her mind and was flying in the air, she must be a witch or something! What a freak! Is she evil, Mom? Why can she do that and I can't?"

Yui heard the boy's mom tell her son that of course witches didn't exist and that he must have imagined it all. The boy protested, saying that he had really seen her fly and that she had to be a witch, or something else weird. His mother laughed at him, thinking he just had a wild imagination. Yui tuned them out and was still sniffling and hiccuping as her mom drove them home. They didn't say a word on the way there, which was rare for them, as they usually loved talking together. But the mood was somber, and neither one tried to break the silence.

When Asuna unlocked the door, Yui began rushing towards the stairs, but her mom's gentle hand stopped her. She looked up at her mother with an expression that would have wrung tears from rocks.

"Yui, you can never show anybody that again, alright? Only at home and in front of Mama, okay? I'm not doing this to be mean. It's just not safe for you, okay?"

Yui sniffled a little and said, "I understand, Mom, I won't do it again; I didn't expect anyone to get angry at me. I just wanted to make a friend. I didn't know he'd get so mad ... I guess he got angry he couldn't do it. Is that how everyone else will act if they find out? Is it really rare or something?"

Asuna smiled sadly at her daughter and wiped a few tears off her face. "It's not just that people will get angry, it's that somebody could hurt you because of it. The truth is, it's not just a unique ability: no human can do it, and most people are human. The fairies keep their kind a secret from most of us, so as far everyone else knows, nobody can do what you just did. You're special and they might try to hurt you, and take you away from mama because they don't understand. They've just never seen anyone like you, so it will startle them."

Yui was shocked. "I thought that people would just be jealous, I didn't think they would try to take me away from you!" She was horrified - someone would actually take her from her mother because of that? She would never use her powers again, not if she had to say goodbye to her mother. She wanted to stay with her mom always. They didn't have any other family, so her mother would be all alone if Yui left. That couldn't happen; her mother needed her like she needed her mother. They were a tiny but close family, and nothing should be allowed to separate them.

Her mother looked sad. "Yui, unfortunately, most people wouldn't just be jealous. They might be afraid, and fear makes people act horrible sometimes. So you must never do that in public again, alright? Mommy loves you, she's not doing this to be mean. She cares about you, okay?"

"I understand, Mama!" She didn't need to be told twice, scared of the thought of being taken away from her mother.

Asuna hadn't acted mad at her, but she never took her to that particular park again. Yui stopped being so excited about her powers after that. Whenever she made friends from then on, she always eventually grew upset that she couldn't be honest with them, and one by one pushed them away. They would probably hate her if they found out anyway, she told herself. She didn't need friends; she had her mom, and her mom was better than a thousand friends.

~RTA,YC~

Yui shook her head. 'Now's not the time to think about stuff like that,' she told herself. She knew better than to show people her real self now, so nobody had any reason to dislike her. Surely she could make friends this year, as long as she avoided thinking about what she couldn't tell them. Why couldn't she just be herself with someone? Why did she have to be so weird compared to everyone else? Maybe that's why her father left, because he didn't want a freak daughter. She didn't blame him.

Shaking off her dark thoughts, she decided to try the monkey bars for now and headed over to them. The monkey bars had no negative memory attached to them, so they should be safe, right? But standing by them was the girl in her class who had sat next to her: Yuki, who lived in an orphanage. She was frowning slightly, as if her own thoughts were busy with unpleasant things. Her purpley-black hair was in a ponytail, and she had on a lavender top, with a silver star on it. She looked rather lonely, subtly looking at the other kids playing around her, as if she wanted to join in but didn't know how. It reminded Yui of the separation she sometimes felt from everyone else. She decided to take pity on her, and see if she wanted a friend. Maybe she could help Yui out, too.

"Hey!" Yui spoke to her, accidentally startling the poor girl by talking too loudly.

Yuki looked surprised someone was talking to her. "Oh! Um, hey."

"I'm Yui. You're Yuki, right?" Yui decided to tell her her name again, in case the other girl forgot. Yui hadn't really paid the most attention earlier, having already decided that everyone would eventually start to hate her. She wished she had tried harder to be friendly.

"Oh, yeah, I'm Yuki. Did you need something?" Yuki, for some odd reason, looked like Yui was going to yell at her. It made Yui frown - were orphanages as bad as everybody had said they were? She had thought that was just for movies or books, but maybe they actually were awful. It made her appreciate her mom more. Maybe Yuki needed friendship even more than she did. She became determined to be the girl's friend.

"No, I was just wondering, maybe ... did you want to be my friend?" Best to just ask, instead of beating around the bush. Though Yui would deny it, she was a lot like her mother, and if someone looked like they could use some help or kind words she'd offer it.

Yuki looked surprised at her words again. "Are you sure!? Why?" She sounded like it was absurd for anyone to want to be nice to her.

Yui wondered, was it the orphanage or the kids at school that caused her to be like that? She knew kids her age were more than able to be mean - the boy on the swing being proof of that - and anything that was different or odd would be looked down on. It might be the other children that made Yuki think like this.

"Of course. I just moved here after last school year, and everyone here seems to know each other already, so they don't want anymore friends. And I saw you weren't talking to anyone, so I thought maybe you could hang out with me. If you want to be alone, that's fine too. I'm sorry to bother you, I can leave you by yourself if you want. I'll go now." Maybe she was wrong, and Yuki didn't want to make friends. She was a bit disappointed.

"No, no! I was just shocked, I wasn't expecting anyone to want to talk to me on my first day here, that's all. I don't really make friends with people that easily, so it surprised me. I'm painfully shy, actually." Yuki seemed panicked, like Yui would change her mind if she didn't speak fast enough.

"I don't make friends that easily either. So, we can be friends then?" Yui asked.

Yuki smiled shyly. "Yeah, okay then."

They played together the rest of recess, Yui showing off how good she was at climbing on top of the monkey bars. Yuki was able to get up beside her, ending Yui's smugness. Yui was surprised at how much she enjoyed spending the day with her new friend, and it made her excited for tomorrow. Maybe she could actually manage to keep a friend this time!

It would surely make her mother happy, as she was worried Yui didn't have enough friends to play with. Maybe it would finally stop the awful play dates her mom always set her up with. 'That would be the day,' Yui thought sarcastically.

~RTA,YC~

The rest of the day was quite uneventful. Once Yui was home, her mother of course made her tell her all about her day, pestering her when she had said "nothing really happened," and asked if she had made any new friends. When asked about the lunch at school, she apologized for forgetting to make Yui take hers. Yui had left it on the kitchen table, and by the time Asuna noticed, when she had gotten off from work and it was almost time to pick Yui up from school. After making snide comments on the lunch the school had provided, her mother stated she would make sure to make it from now on. Yui almost groaned when she thought about her mother checking her backpack a hundred times to make sure she had it.

She had turned into her fairy form once inside the house, wanting to relax the rest of the day. After dinner, she cuddled up to her mother on the couch, and they watched some dumb, probably fake, game show.

A couple hours later, her mother told her to get ready for bed. Yui was now combing her hair in her bathroom upstairs. After quickly brushing her teeth, she changed into her black nightgown and got into bed. Closing her eyes, she thought about her new friend, and what school would be like tomorrow. She grew excited at the thought of being in school for the first time in a long time.

Sighing sleepily, Yui soon slipped away, into her dreams.

~RTA,YC~


	2. School days

**AN: This has been re-edited, and is much better than before. If you have any comments or suggestions, please tell me.**

School Days

Yui somehow managed to wake up the next morning without her mother's prodding. That was a rather rare occurrence for her. She wasn't really lazy per se; she just wasn't the easiest to get up. When she was up, though, she was rather hyperactive, not in a misbehaving way but a bubbly one. Her mother said she couldn't keep up with her sometimes. Her hyperactiveness was interrupted by short catnaps throughout the day. Asuna liked to tease her about the odd places she'd sleep in, as Yui would rather find a comfortable nook to doze off in than to trek up to her room. Some of the areas she slept in amused her mother to no end.

She could hear rain lightly tapping against the roof. It appeared the rainy week would continue, something Yui wasn't complaining about. The rain made her mood improve, contrary to what most people felt. She didn't know why, but the rain made her feel as if something mysterious was about to happen, perhaps from all the books she read where the weather was used for foreshadowing. She wondered briefly if she would be able to fly in the downpour, though she had been forbidden to fly outside by her mother. In fictional books and movies - well, fictional for all she knew - a lot of the time flight was hindered by water. It would be interesting to test it out, for what if an emergency happened and she had to fly in a downpour? She shook her head softly - she was beginning to sound just like her mother.

Yui sighed and once again wondered why she had to keep her true self hidden. Was she really the only one like this, on earth at least? There had to be more, but where were they? She remembered when her mother had finally told her that Alfheim was a real place, not just a story she had made up, and that fairies actually existed. Asuna revealed that she was human and that Yui was half-fairy, which caused more questions than answers. If she was half-fairy and her mother was human, then surely that meant her dad was a full fairy, right? But that completely ruined her theory about him leaving because she was a freak. So if he didn't leave for that reason, then why did he abandon them?

Asuna had explained that fairies originated from Alfheim, and that's where most of them lived. She hadn't said where Yui's father was now, if she even knew, just that most beings from the other world preferred to live there. It made Yui frustrated. Where the heck was this magical place exactly? Was it even on earth? What kept humans from finding it? Was it a spell, or something else magical? She knew now that most people had no idea the other world even existed, and it made her curious why the people from Alfheim wanted to keep everything a secret. Would humans really react that negatively? Her mother seemed to not mind that she was only half human; heck, she even had a kid with a fairy maybe, so why couldn't more people be like her mom? Maybe the fairies had a different reason entirely, something other than fear. Yui couldn't imagine what that could possibly be, though. So she reluctantly agreed that her secret should stay hidden.

She wondered if maybe the people of Alfheim looked down on humans, and what they felt about half beings such as herself. While the magic she could do wasn't that impressive, she could imagine that if she had grown up in the other realm, she might be stronger. She bet that someone older than her could do much more brilliant things, with better finesse. So it would be no surprise if they thought humans were beneath them - they must look quite weak to them in comparison. What would they think of someone like Yui, who was half? Human and fairy relations must be rare, as nobody else she had met had actually heard of fairies - thinking them myths - or was one themselves. Perhaps it was looked down on in Alfheim if you married a human or had a kid with one, and that's why her father had abandoned them. Maybe she was an accident and he had never intended to stay with her mother in the first place.

It made Yui feel sick to imagine someone thinking her mother was not worth anything just because she was human. Asuna was a much better person than anyone else, kinder than any human or fairy. Someone who sacrificed their own meal so their daughter could be fed instead, who worked themselves to exhaustion so their child had a roof over their head, who kept their baby when it would have been so much easier to get rid of her, was far superior than the strongest or rarest magic in the world, according to Yui, anyway. If that's why her father left, he could stay gone. Her mother deserved better.

'But', Yui thought, 'I have no proof. He could have left for another reason, I have no idea why. So I can't judge him, even if it's easier to'. Even though her instincts told her to be angry at someone who had hurt her mother - for her mother was so obviously hurt, looking like she was barely able to hold herself together sometimes - she knew she couldn't hate him, not yet anyway, not until she knew for sure why he was gone.

Even though she told herself it was to be fair, she knew the real reason she didn't want to hate her dad. She was still hopeful that one day he would come home, and they could be a family. And her mother's smiles would finally stop being fake.

She remembered her sixth birthday party and the present she had bought for him. Her mother had thought she'd gotten it for herself until Yui had told her, 'I made it for Daddy, so that if he finally comes home, maybe he'll be proud of me and he'll stay. And then you can be happy again, Mama. You always look so sad, and I thought if Daddy stays, maybe you'll be happy for once. Does Daddy make you happy, Mommy?' Asuna had started crying, making Yui feel guilty for even speaking.

After her mother had managed to sob out things that somehow made Yui even more unsure if her dad was dead, the gift that she had gotten him went in the back of a cabinet and wasn't mentioned unless it was a special occasion. But it had confirmed to Yui one thing, that her mother would be happier if her dad was home. So, she wanted him back, just for her mom's sake. She didn't think that if someone as kindhearted and loving as her mother fell for him, he could possibly be a bad person. Surely, if her mother had grown to love him, he had some redeeming qualities. No, he must have loved her; Yui couldn't bear the thought of her mother not being loved back as much as she loved him. Surely he at least cared for her - who wouldn't adore her mom? It crushed her to think he might have felt nothing for her. Could he have really not felt anything, and left her that easily?

Faint rustling interrupted Yui's darkening thoughts, and the sound of a pan scraping against something could be heard from the kitchen. Her mom was up and would probably check on her in a few minutes to wake her up. Yui knew if her thoughts continued down the path they were going, it was inevitable she'd start crying.

She probably had time to rest for a few seconds, as her mom finished breakfast. She strongly considered going back to sleep, but she remembered her newfound friend, Yuki, and grew excited for school. Maybe a warm shower would improve her mood. It wouldn't do to sink into a depression for today - best to turn her thoughts around. Easier said than done, though.

Yui got up and left her room, yelling to her mother that she was getting ready, before she could waste her time going upstairs. A warm shower and clean teeth later, she got dressed in the clothes Asuna must have laid out for her, a black top with pink hearts on it and jean pants. It was still rainy out, so skirts or shorts couldn't be worn, at least until the weather dried up. Feeling the need to be closer to her mother, Yui styled her hair like hers, half-braided. Her mother definitely pulled it off better - really, her mother could wear a trash bag and still look beautiful, but Yui hoped that she at least looked a little nice. Was it too much to ask, to inherit at least some of her mother's beauty?

When she headed down to the kitchen, the smell of maple syrup permeated the air. Her mother was working over the stove, her chestnut hair in a bun, her cinnamon eyes sparkling. It made Yui happy to watch her mother cook, as she was usually at least in a semi-good mood if she was.

Seeing her mom be truly upbeat was a rare occurrence. Her real happiness seemed to have been stolen long ago, before Yui was born or old enough to remember. It made her upset sometimes that she couldn't be that person for her mother, the one that knew just what to say. To make her mom see that she didn't need to be sad, that she was a lovely person who deserved to be happy, and if her father couldn't see what he had lost, he wasn't worth it. But, whenever her dad was brought up, Yui always seemed to make it worse, usually ending with her mother crying and looking depressed for the next few days. Yui wasn't the best with words, oftentimes putting her foot in her mouth, so she always seemed to fail at making Asuna better. It sucked, because if anyone deserved to be happy with life, it was her mother, who had done so much for her.

"Smells good, Mom," Yui commented, her words coming out slightly shaky from her previous thoughts before she sat down at the table and poured herself a drink. She coughed quietly to clear her throat. The last thing she needed was for her mom to be worried for her.

"Thanks, honey! Did you pack everything you need for school?" Asuna asked as she made Yui's plate for her.

"Yes, Mom." Yui rolled her eyes at her mother before taking a bite out of her pancakes, nearly purring from the taste. Mmm, with blueberry bits just the right size and the perfect amount of syrup, the pancakes tasted heavenly. As always, no corrections needed to be made to her mother's meal. Sipping on her milk, Yui began blowing bubbles through the straw, something that irritated her mother. But she never let it overflow on the table, so she didn't get what the big deal was.

"I'm just making sure, and stop playing with your drink. Do you remember what happened the last time you forgot your project for school?" Asuna raised her eyebrow at her.

Taking the straw from her mouth, Yui frowned. Her mama had had to leave work early and pick it up from home before dropping it off at Yui's school. It was something Yui had worked really hard on, and she had been eager to give her presentation. She couldn't believe she had been dumb enough to have forgotten it. That wouldn't have been so bad by itself, but her mother's job at the time had been fragile, and if she lost it, they would both be on the streets. Her boss had warned her that that was the last day she could miss; one more and she'd have to find another job. Yui didn't have any family besides her mom - not any that she had met anyway - so there was nobody to give them a place to stay or help them out if her mom lost her job.

Just one more missed day and Asuna would get fired, and they were struggling to get by as it was. The job barely covered enough for them to keep a roof over their head, pay all the bills, and keep themselves fed. It wasn't a rare occurrence for the power or water to be shut off, though it was paid off as soon as Asuna could. They had very little emergency funds but definitely not enough to live for any extended periods of time. Luckily, Asuna had found somewhere else to work, one that was a lot more understanding of her changing schedule. They had decided to move to be closer for her job. It still didn't pay the best, but it was at least a little better than before.

"I know, Mom." Yui quieted down at the reminder, thinking about how sad her mother had been back then. She hated the thought of her mother being upset, and took every step she could to avoid that from happening.

To say her mother's job hadn't paid well was an understatement. And with no husband or family to help with bills or groceries or other necessities, they oftentimes went hungry. Yui remembered when they were eating only one meal a day. She had felt guilty for being fed an extra meal at school, while her mother ate less. Since they were low-income, Yui got her lunch for free. She wished her mother could have been fed, too. Asuna went hungry a lot, choosing to feed her daughter over herself. Rather than rationing the food equally, she made sure Yui received extra. With a horribly paying job that didn't pay for bills or food properly, let alone anything else, it was hard to stay positive. Her mother had sank into a depression, and Yui wasn't that far behind. They had mostly turned that around, and hopefully it would stay that way.

"What are you frowning about? You're going to make me nervous about sending you to school." Her mother sounded anxious. It was true that she was Yui's only relative - at least that she knew about - but it was also true the other way around. She was the only thing Asuna had, and her mother cared about her immensely. It was more than understandable why her mom was so concerned. She would be, too. Though Yui complained about it, she secretly loved how much her mother worried about her, for the most part. She felt the same concern about her mom; the feeling was more than returned.

"It's fine, Mama," Yui waved her mother off. Asuna's boss might be more agreeable than the last, but she still couldn't afford to leave work often. And she would definitely take time off if she thought Yui needed to.

"Well, cheer up then, otherwise Mommy will worry about you." Asuna bit her bottom lip, chewing on it softly.

Yui winced at the anxiety in her mother's voice and pushed the remainder of her bad thoughts away. Beaming at her mom, she said, "Did you make me lunch for today? Or will I have to get the school lunch?"

"Of course! It'll be much healthier than that thing the school calls lunch - will taste loads better, too! I don't like the crud they serve at your school. I thought they were supposed to encourage kids to eat healthy, but..."

Yui didn't really care about the "healthier" part, only about "taste loads better." She tuned the rest of her mother's words out though she picked up a few fragments like, "you're a growing girl and you don't need to be served sludge, I don't know how..." and "'I'll look up what kind of vitamins you'll need online, that way…" It was best to stop her mother before she got on a roll: the last thing Yui needed was a lecture on nutrition.

"That sounds nice," she said, cutting her mom off before finishing the rest of her breakfast. Picking up her plate, she began washing it before Asuna could insist she leave it again.

Yui put her plate and cup in the cabinet and tried to avoid looking at a certain item in the back of it: the one cup, which she had painted herself, made for that special person. She knew her mother avoided it, too. Her sixth birthday had had a bad ending, one full of tears, and she tried not to remember what her mother had looked like for the next few weeks afterward. It had created a new tradition, one that some might find sad, but now was not the day for that.

"Mommy..." she said, hopping down from the counter, "I love you, you know? I wish I could do more to show you that."

"Oh, Yui. I love you too, sweetie. You don't have to do anything, honey. I'm the mom so it's my job to take care of you, not the other way around. You're fine."

Yui didn't agree with that, but chose not to argue.

Asuna wrapped her arms around her daughter and crushed her. They stayed like that for a while, too comfortable to leave. Eventually, they had to separate for Yui's school, but the day ahead looked considerably brighter.

~RTA,SD~

With it being only the second day of the school year, no real class work was done; instead it was only introductions and easy reminders of the things they had learnt the previous year. The actual schoolwork would begin later, something Yui sort of looked forward to. She was very smart for her age and her teachers had suggested to Asuna on more than one occasion if Yui should skip a grade, in a year or two. Well, that intelligence was only technically true. Asuna had told her that fairies' minds worked a little faster than humans, their magic making their mental capacity exceed that of non-magical beings. So technically, Yui was only smart for a human her age. She wondered if she would be considered dumb in Alfheim. Not that it bothered her - as long as she had a kind heart, she wouldn't care if they thought of her as dumb. But, as she had gone through her school years, she had always been considered really bright, so it would be a bit of a bummer if she was secretly really stupid to a whole entire world. She shifted awkwardly in her chair, suddenly embarrassed.

They were given a worksheet, with instructions to answer what they could, testing what they had absorbed from last year. It wasn't supposed to be completed, but Yui almost finished hers. Yuki came second, almost beating her at answering more items, which surprised her. Yui chastised herself for thinking that. She didn't want to become rude or snobby and assume she was automatically smarter than someone just because they were human. She would hate it if someone thought that about her mom, so she didn't want to behave like that either.

"Alright! We're done with that for now," Mrs. Rei told the class as she collected the tests.

"But I wasn't finished yet!" a boy sitting across from Yui exclaimed. When he frowned, his face scrunched up, making the freckles on his face more apparent. She thought he looked kind of cute.

The teacher smiled kindly at him. "You were supposed to finish what you can; you aren't meant to complete it all."

Still, Yui frowned - if she had had a few more minutes she probably would've finished it. Yui might not look like it, but she was actually quite competitive, something she had gotten from her mother. She decided that answering most of it was good enough. Besides, it was best not to call attention to her abilities, as most of them were odd compared to the normal person's. It was probably better for her to dumb herself down. Plus, it wasn't really fair: she had an advantage the other kids didn't, so it wouldn't be right to use it. She sighed, already bored as she thought of the future schoolwork that year.

The bell for recess rung suddenly, making her jump and drop her pencil case. So much for superior intelligence.

Yui thought that, being one of the last ones out, Yuki might have gone on ahead of her. But her new friend was standing on the edge of the playground, looking unsure. Her lilac jacket hung ill-fittingly from her shoulders, as if it had belonged to someone else before her.

"Hey, Yuki! Did you want to play together again today?" Yui was hopeful that they would become good friends, though she was still a bit hesitant. How close could they become, if Yui had to always keep the most important thing about herself hidden?

Yuki looked startled for a second, before relief showed on her face. "Sorry, I wasn't sure if you would want to hang out with me again. I don't have very many friends, so I'm not used to someone being so nice."

"That's okay, I don't really have that many friends, either." Yui wasn't really shy per se, but she hadn't exactly been encouraged to make friends since that day on the swing set. It stayed in the back of her mind that Yuki could eventually act the same way, but Yui tried desperately to ignore it. Yuki hadn't done anything wrong yet, so Yui couldn't punish her for it.

She never had trouble making friends, but she struggled with keeping them. Always becoming sad she couldn't share her closest secrets with them, she pushed them all away eventually, even if she tried not to. It got depressing to feel like even if she could share her secret, they would hate her for it and think she was freaky or dangerous. She would just have to accept that she couldn't tell Yuki everything about herself, otherwise Yui would start to push her away, like she did everyone else except for her mom. Maybe making friends with Yuki would be the good, fresh start she needed to keeping friends, finally. Even though she would never admit it to Asuna, her mother was right: she was extremely lonely. But Yui didn't see the need to tell her mom that, when there wasn't much she could do about it. Unless she could find someone who knew the secret of Alfheim, she had nobody but her mom whom she could be completely honest with.

They headed over to the swings and tried to see who could go higher. Yuki actually won that one, again surprising Yui. They eventually settled to a slow pace and began talking about their families.

"Well, I don't have a dad, but my mom's pretty awesome. She works as a florist, so our house always smells good from all the flowers and stuff she brings home. She brought home these roses that had been modified to look like they're blue. Did you know roses don't come naturally in that color, and that those that do are dyed that shade? She's a really good cook too, and can make anything taste delicious, even healthy food. She has a really nice voice, so she's always good at telling me stories and singing me to sleep. She always knows how to make me feel better. Other than that, I don't have any other family." Yui felt guilty, suddenly remembering that Yuki didn't have any family, not even a loving mom. She knew that she would feel bad if someone talked about how awesome their dad was, and it made her feel ashamed about her own. She regretted being so eager to talk about her mom.

Yuki looked happy instead of sad at Yui's words, however. "Your mom sounds nice. I don't really have a mom figure, but Ami, one of the caretakers, is always nice to me. She paid special attention to me when I was sick and made sure I was all right. She always acts concerned over everybody living at the orphanage, even the other caretakers. I hope you can meet her someday."

Yui was glad her friend didn't seem hurt. The last thing she wanted was to upset someone about their lack of family.

"I'd like that. I don't know the rules for visiting, though. Do you have to sign in or something?"

"Well you have to call first, at the very least. Some days, like certain holidays, visiting isn't allowed, but for the most part you can come by whenever you want. Just don't stay over too long or too late. Visiting hours close at 9:00 for the younger kids and at 10:30 for fifteen and up." Yuki cringed slightly, like she had said something wrong. "Sorry, I guess it's kinda lame, having so much rules. I can understand if you don't want to come now."

"No, it's fine! Mama wouldn't want me out of the house too late, anyway. Nine is probably too late for her, actually. And I think it's considered rude to just go over to someone's house without letting them know beforehand - at least, it should be. Your rules don't seem too strict; I think most normal homes have the same guidelines." Yui winced when she realized what she said. "Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you when I said normal, I wasn't thinking! I didn't mean it like that. I'm so sorry!" She waved her arms frantically, as if it would help her explain. It was just like her to say something stupid like that.

Yuki giggled at her friend's panic. She considered pretending that she was upset for a while, just to mess with her, but decided not to at the earnest distress on Yui's face. "It's fine! I know what you mean. And besides, living in an orphanage isn't really normal. I mean most people live with someone they're related to, at least an aunt or something, if their parents are unavailable. Most people's home lives are different from mine, I imagine. I'm not mad, I swear."

"If you're sure you're not upset?" Yui's face was blushing a fairy-pink color, an embarrassing feature she had gotten from her mom. She moved some of her hair in front of her face, trying to shield her embarrassment

Yuki frowned for a second just to play with her, before grinning. "Oh, believe me, I've heard worse things about myself before."

Yui started to ask "like what?" but decided not to, as nothing good could possibly come from knowing. She directed them over to the slide, hoping to distract from the awkward moment.

Seeing its graying yellow color reminded her of something. "Oh, I have a really stupid memory of me injuring myself on one of these."

"How did you injure yourself on a slide, of all places!?" Yuki shook her head at her friend. Though very nice, Yui seemed to be a bit of a ditz.

"I was trying to show off. A couple of older kids were going down backwards, and I tried to as well. I hit my head on the ground when I landed. My mom wouldn't let me play on it the rest of summer." She probably would've caught herself if she was allowed to use her wings. As it was, her injury didn't last that long, thanks to her supernatural healing abilities.

Yuki tried to cover up her giggle at her friend's misfortune.

They ate together at lunch time, and Yui shared some of the food Asuna had made for her. That seemed to cheer Yuki up, who was used to the food the orphanage provided and - the unsatisfying, in comparison - school lunches.

Yui showed off the cute little lunch box Asuna had gotten her.

"You actually get filled up from that? It looks so tiny! It's really cute!"

Yui nodded. "It fits more food in it than you think. Mom has one too. The creators have a bigger version, but me and Mom never manage to fill it up, so we just stick to the smaller one."

"It's so adorable-looking! I wish I had one," Yuki sighed.

Yui bounced her feet awkwardly, unsure of what to say. They did have an extra one at home, the bigger one that her mom had tried out. But the orphanage had Yuki and the others eat the school lunch, so it would probably go to waste. She decided not to offer it.

The rest of the school day passed quickly, with no homework to be done - not that Yui was complaining. She looked outside the classroom window and saw that the sky looked stormy. She hoped that meant rain, not thunder.

Mrs. Rei led them outside, supervising their exit from school. Near the parking lot, Yui tried to introduce Yuki to her mother.

"Do you want to meet my mom? She's right over there!" Yui pointed over to a silver car, which her mom was getting out of. She felt something wet hit her eyelash, and saw it was lightly misting.

"No, thanks, Yui, I don't have enough time right now. Ami's waiting for me. She won't want to wait in the rain for too long." Yuki gestured to where the caretaker was. She shifted on her feet slightly, looking as if she were debating whether to run across the parking lot to Ami or not.

Yui thought she looked like Yuki was nervous to meet Asuna, not that she didn't have enough time. She remembered Yuki had said she was shy at first, so she decided not to push her too hard.

"Okay, well, if you're sure?" Yui asked her.

"Maybe another day." Then Yuki ran off to her caretaker.

The mist increased to a drizzle so Asuna was quick to get her daughter under an umbrella, like Yui would catch a cold immediately if she didn't. She made sure Yui was covered completely until she was in the car.

"Did you have a nice day at school? Who was that girl you were talking to?" her mother asked as she pulled out of the parking lot. The windshield wipers were on a low setting, but Yui always found it interesting to watch. One of the games she played when it rained was to find a water droplet near the top of her window and see if it could make its way down, before being absorbed by another drop. If it did then her wish would come true - at least she pretended it would.

She told her mother about her day and her new friend as she looked outside the window. As soon as they got home, on exiting the car Yui was immediately covered by the umbrella again. She sighed at her mother's concern, and they went inside.

"Tomorrow I'm going to make lunch for your new friend, okay? I can find the lunch box she liked." Asuna seemed proud when Yui told her Yuki loved her cooking.

Yui thought of Yuki's awkwardness at the end of school. "I don't know, she might get embarrassed. I'm sure she gets a lot of pity for living in an orphanage so it might upset her." She knew she got annoyed if anyone eyed her with pity when they found out she didn't have a dad, and she imagined it must be even worse, being an orphan. Not that she got too angry at them for offering sympathy. It just got annoying, to see the look of condolence on their face.

Her mother frowned. "Well, I'll just make sure your lunch is twice as big tomorrow, then you can say you can't eat it all and share it with her."

Yui rolled her eyes. Once Asuna got an idea in her head, there was no stopping her, especially when it came to somebody being well fed. Even if they didn't have a lot of money themselves, her mom never passed up an opportunity to mother someone.

They had macaroni and cheese for dinner that night, Yui's all-time favorite, then talked about the things that went on at school and work, relaxing on the couch together. She fell asleep cuddled up to her mom and had to be woken up. Yawning, Yui dragged herself to the bathroom and after brushing her teeth and a quick story from her mom, she fell fast asleep.

~RTA,SD~


End file.
